"Rapi, how much longer do we have to wait? You think that commander we were told to wait for is already dead?"
In a small, empty square, a blonde girl in a yellow outfit spoke impatiently to the reddish-brown-haired girl beside her.
However, the expressionless Rapi didn't react to Anis's words at all, as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"Hey! Rapi, say something! If this keeps up, we're going to run out of bullets."
Anis stomped her foot in frustration when Rapi remained silent.
But Rapi, seeing Anis getting angry, only said flatly, "Since we haven't received a death notification, we must continue to wait here. After all, it's an order."
"You... sometimes I really wish you could be a little more flexible."
Anis looked at her teammate. Although they had been working together for a while, she still couldn't get used to Rapi's way of thinking, which was more rigid than a block of wood.
Sometimes, Anis seriously suspected that when Ingrid was making Rapi's body, she hadn't installed any artificial skin on her face at all, but had made it directly from steel.
Otherwise, how could she speak without a single shred of emotion?
If it weren't for the fact that this girl ate normally, Anis would even suspect that she was a real robot in disguise.
"I'm not being stubborn. I'm simply following orders from above," Rapi said flatly, then checked the bullets in her weapon. "Instead of talking on the side, you should prepare yourself. It seems more Raptures are coming."
"Sigh~ Yes, yes. Speaking of which, can you really live forever by just following orders correctly? Is that why you've survived this long? No, that's not right. Those orders sound like suicide missions."
Anis prattled on in Rapi's ear like a stand-up comedian.
She really couldn't figure out how Rapi had managed to survive for so long with such a rigid mindset.
In a place like the front lines, mass-produced Nikkes were replaced one after another.
Normally, a Nikke wouldn't last more than half a year in this godforsaken place.
But Rapi was an exception. As the Ark's legendary survivor, she had set a new record for survival on the front lines.
All her teammates had died, but she hadn't.
She had even earned the title of the "Ark's Grim Reaper."
And facing Anis, who was chattering away in her ear, Rapi had long since achieved a state of complete calm, devoid of any emotion.
Of course, just when you thought Rapi was the odd one out, Anis, on the side, was no simple character either.
As a former underground idol, after joining Tetra Line, Anis had fully demonstrated what it meant to have an extremely sharp tongue.
Normally, any teammate who was paired with her would be arguing with her within three days, and fighting within a week.
In the entire world of Nikke, if you were to ask who had the sharpest tongue, besides the other member of their trio, there was probably no one who could compare.
And Rapi had endured this for a whole year.
If it weren't for Rapi's personality, Anis's grave would probably be three meters high by now.
"Attention! The enemy is approaching!"
As movement was heard up ahead, a large number of small Raptures instantly surrounded Rapi and Anis.
These mechanical creatures, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, charged towards them like a pack of bloodthirsty hunters.
The two quickly found cover behind the surrounding ruins.
Rapi calmly adjusted her weapon, while Anis nervously gripped her gun.
With the roar of machine guns, bullets rained down on the swarming Raptures, instantly taking down several of them. Metal fragments flew through the air in arcs before crashing to the ground with a crisp clang.
However, the number of Raptures clearly exceeded their expectations, seeming to be endless.
They swarmed in like a tide, pouring out from the ruins ahead, creating a desperate sense of pressure. Anis's heart pounded, and she could almost hear the blood rushing in her ears.
"Rapi, can we hold them off?" she tried to stay calm, but her voice was laced with anxiety.
Rapi didn't respond, her eyes fixed on the front, accurately calculating the trajectory of each bullet. As the sound of cannons roared again, shells landed precisely in the midst of the Rapture swarm, instantly causing an explosion. Fire and smoke intertwined, temporarily halting the enemy's advance.
However, through the smoke, the Raptures continued to pour in endlessly, as if there were no end to them. A sense of unease gradually rose in Anis's heart. Faced with this torrent of metal, she could see no hope.
"Damn it! There are too many of them! I told you we should have left here earlier!"
Anis shouted at Rapi beside her.
If this continued, Rapi might be able to survive, but she would definitely die a horrible death!
With so many Raptures, she probably wouldn't even be able to find a single piece of herself left!
Was it really true that anyone who teamed up with the Ark's Grim Reaper would die?
"Something's not right, Anis. These Raptures don't feel like they're attacking us. It's more like they're fleeing."
Rapi continued to calmly observe the battlefield. She had unexpectedly discovered that the Raptures' path of advance seemed completely different from usual.
"What? Raptures fleeing? What are you dreaming about? It's not time to sleep yet, Rapi!"
Just as Anis finished her complaint, a strange sound suddenly entered her and Rapi's ears.
🎶 🎶 🎶 NANANANA 🎶 🎶 🎶
"What the hell is that noise?"
Anis looked over with confusion. Behind the swarm of Raptures, a strange object was rapidly approaching, emitting a bizarre sound.
"Go to hell, all of you! Hahahaha! You wretched Raptures, can you possibly resist me, who wields anti-Rapture armor forged from your own corpses?!
"see! Who have the greaters ride!~"
"Commander, please keep it down. This is too embarrassing."
"Marian... you should have continued the lyrics earlier!"
"This not place for play commander!!!"
Anis: (?_?）
"If I'm not mistaken, it looks like there's someone talking on that weird thing. What the hell is that?!"
In Anis's eyes, this giant piece of scrap metal, which looked like a conglomeration of Rapture corpses, was annihilating the surrounding Raptures with devastating force.
Its terrifying power had even crushed an elite Rapture into pieces in an instant.
"What the hell is that thing? A Tyrant-class Rapture?" At this moment, Anis's expression resembled a certain world-famous painting.
She felt like the sky was falling.